Over the last couple of months, I have spent time trying to figure out my long term goals and how to best position myself to meet those goals. What I have not really done is considered how much progress I’ve made thus far and compared it to some sort of benchmark. While I know where I’m trying to go and how far I’ve gotten, I don’t really have a good sense for whether that means I’m on track or lagging.

So, I thought I would do a bit of research to find something I could use to create a point of comparison. I suspect I’ll find more than one tool, so I’ll consider using several of them to get a reasonable sense for where I am and how I compare.

Below are some of the ones I found:

The Millionaire Next Door

If you haven’t read this book, you should. The millionaire next door provides a forumla for determining whether or not you’re on the path to wealth:

Multiply your age times your realized pre-tax annual household income from all sources except inheritances

Divide by 10

This is what your net worth should be. So, for example, a hypothetical 35-year-old making $100,000 per year should have a net worth of $350,000 [(35*100,000) / 10].

For myself, my current net worth is slightly above where I need to be based upon this rule of thumb – so far so good!

Tool from CNN Money

CNN Money has a tool (link) that allows you to see where you rank based upon your age and income. This is a bit different than the Millionaire formula in that it does not really tell you where you should be, but shows you where other people are at based upon age / income from a 2005 Market Audit Survey by Claritas.

You have to look at it closely, however. For example, I’m 34 and when I look at the median net worth for my age group, it is a scary $2125. If I just move it a notch to age 35, it jumps to $44,875. For myself, I think that is the more reasonable comparison. I shouldn’t be surprised at this. You may recall one of my recent posts entitled “Half of All Workers Have Savings less than $25K Really?“…some of this data seems to lend credence to it.

From an income standpoint, I must admit, I was more surprised. Someone making $50K per year has a median net worth of $109,975 while someone making $100K has a median net worth of over $350K! I had expected it to be much lower. However, without being able to look at the detailed data being used for this tool, I can’t really determine what the drivers are. At any rate, for my age / income, I appear to be in good standing for my age group, but only slightly so for my income…things still look pretty good overall.

NetworthIQ

I recognize that any analysis is only good as the data that has gone into it, but I thought it worthwhile to check out the net worth statistics (link) on NetworthIQ. Some would argue that the data set from NetworthIQ is not a good sample size or representative of the entire population, but as long as I go into it with that realization, I think it still has some usefulness.

The data is a bit similar to that from the tool on CNN Money in that you can view by age and income. Interestingly, however, the data is also segmented by education and occupation. The median net worth for my age is significantly higher than the CNN tool at $131K, but the median net worth is much lower for my income. Hmmmm… I’m not sure exactly what that tells me, but in any case, my net worth exceeds both…so I guess I’m still feeling pretty good.

Survey of Consumer Finances

The Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) is a triennial survey of the balance sheet, pension, income, and other demographic characteristics of US families conducted by our good friends at the Federal Reserve Board. Unfortunately, the 2007 survey is not scheduled to start until May of this year, so the only data currently available is from 2004.

This survey contains a lot of great data in a variety of areas and also includes some charts / tables specifically on net worth. The entire table is too large to post here, but below is an excerpt:

Again, until you hit the 35 and over age group, the net worth is pretty low in comparison. Again, although I’m 34, I still think using the figures from the 35-44 group provide a better basis for comparison. Again, my networth compares pretty favorably. I’m definitely going to save the link to my favorites as I’ll be interested to see the updated results from the survey.

I also came across an article from Liz Pulliam Weston outlining a formula for determining your wealth score. This is somewhat different than the other tools / information above in that it provides a ratio of your net worth divided by your lifetime earnings (ex: from your social security statement). I don’t have my statement readily available, but I’m very curious to see how this one turns out since it is a bit unique versus the others.

Anyway, while I doubt this list of tools is exhaustive, I do think they should provide you with some benchmarks to compare yourself against. However, you should also keep in mind that not all of these tools are created equal. For example, even if my net worth is above the median from the Federal Reserve Survey, it doesn’t mean I’m doing enough, it just means I might be doing better than the average person (and we know how well we are doing as a country in terms of saving, etc…don’t we?).

So, while useful to see how you stack up against your neighbors, I would more strongly recommend the tool from Millionaire Next Door or the Wealth Score to get a sense for whether or not you are making sufficient progress to reach your goals. No single tool is a be-all / end-all…use all of the information available to you to make the best analysis possible.

For myself, I think I am doing “ok”, but will continue to strive to do more. If any of you have any additional tools / tips, please share them!

Like this:

Related

I’ve read the Millionaire Next Door, but I’m still confused on the fomula. I’m 23 and make $30,000 a year. According to the formula I should have a networth of $69,000 but that seems a little odd to me since I’ve only been working for a year. My networth is only $10k.

You make a great point. Practically speaking, the tool is a guide and given that you are just starting out, is probably not going to be very useful to you just yet…other than to provide some motivation and give you a sense for where you want / need to go (ie – you shouldn’t feel bad about it). The fact you have bothered to look at it at all probably puts you in very exclusive company for your age group (I certainly didn’t pay any attention at that age).

My advice to you would be to focus on doing a great job at work / in your career to increase your earnings potential and to those areas in your financial life that will help you create the most wealth.

I would also encourage you (if you aren’t doing it already) to begin tracking your net worth on a regular basis so you can measure your progress. An easy start might be to setup an account on something like NetworthIQ (http://www.networthiq.com/). You can also use the NetworthIQ site to look at other people your age / income who have reported their net worth for comparison. You should take it with a grain of salt (not everything there is probably true), but it should give you a reference point.

It sounds like you’re already making the first steps in taking an active role in creating wealth…that’s huge.

sure it’s a good feeling to compare yourself to others, the majority of which don’t save anything…..the US savings rate is negative, so it’s not hard to beat the Jones. With that said, work towards that magical number you believe you need for financial independence and to maintain a certain life style once you’ve quit working.

If you’re feeling competitive, I believe the true competition is the person who gets to their goal first… :) whatever that financial goal might be.

For Julian, and you PF, if you are interested. On my site, at http://www.joetaxpayer.com/retirement.html
I offer an online calculator (sspreadsheet) as well as a downloadable one. The MND % is not too useful, I’d say. The sheet I created shows one starting at age 20, working till 62, and saving 15% (including company match on 401(k) if any). At 30, you’d have 2X annual income, but at 40, 5.2X. At 62 one would have over 20X to replace their pre-retirement income.
Of course, you can change any of the assumption on the sheet, inflation, rate of return, income, etc.
JOE

That Millionaire formula supposedly tells you whether or not you are better than average, not where you “should” be (whatever that means). It is oversimplified though since it gets easier to amass debt as you get older and reduce loan payments and increase income.

I have not found any good calculators that show averages for income AND age though. I would like to make one if I can find some good data.

Universal – keep in mind, the higher one’s income, the lower the percent that will be replaced by social security. So while someone earning $20K will get just over $11K (57%), someone making $60K will receive under $23K or about 38%. If we are shooting for an 80% replacement at retirement, the lower income person needs to make up 43% which takes about 11X their income, but the higher earner needs 62%, or 15.5X their income. The amount one should have at each age is not a straight line as you discovered, it’s a curve.
Joe

Great article. I think the millionaire formula comes in to full effect only later in life when your earnings have evened out. For example, at a younger age, you often have large salary increases, so taking your latest salary is impractical. An average lifetime salary would perhaps be more useful.

These formulas I am sure did not take into consideration a financial crisis like that of 2008 which wiped out most of the wealth gains of the past 10 years for many, and an economy of today where CD rates for money in the bank is less than 1%, a turbulent stock market and zero appreciation of real estate. Reality strikes and it does not “fit” into a formula.

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Everything posted was very reasonable. However, think about this, suppose you wrote a catchier post title? I mean, I don’t wish to tell you how to run your blog, however suppose you added something that grabbed folk’s attention? I mean Net Worth: How Am I Doing? | My Personal Finance Odyssey is a little plain. You should peek at Yahoo’s front page and see how they create post titles to get viewers to click. You might add a related video or a pic or two to grab people interested about what you’ve got to say. Just my opinion, it might make your blog a little livelier.

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..….”Captain Kutchie” Never Makes Up Stories But If He Did
It Would Probably Be About As Good As The One That You Are About To
Read Next!…..You Believe That?….
….Add “Captain Kutchie Pelaez” To Make This The All-Time Greatest Film Ever Made!….
…Could..“Clint”
Eastwood. Possibly Be Competing With “Captain Kutchie Pelaez” For The
Position Of “The World’s Most Interesting Man”…Perhaps?…But Then Again
Perhaps He Is Just Waiting For “Kutchie Pelaez and Frankie Valli” To
“Make His Day”!…Ha, Go Figure!….
….We Heard A Few Years Back That
Megyn Kelly Of Fox News, Really Loved Her Some Of Captain Kutchie’s And
Anita Pelaez’s Famous Key Lime Pies! Could That Make Megyn “The Most
Interesting Lady In The World?….I Guess “NO” On That One, That One Would
Have To Be “The Lovely –Mrs. Anita Pelaez” The Queen Of The Key Lime
Pie World!
….I sure hope that this will be a great opportunity for
everyone to see some of “Don Rickle’s Scenes” from his productions of
his classic hits “The Tales From Kutcharitaville”. You Do know that Don
Rickles and Johnny Carson together produced those comedy hits about
their friend “Mr. Kutchie Pelaez” and their wild and crazy exploits of
Kutchie’s Key West and The World of Key Lime Pies from the perspective
of (Johnny Carson, Don Rickles, Kutchie Pelaez and Steve Martins Eyes!)
What a Hoot Those Classic Hits Surely Were. Don’t miss them, be sure to
tune-in next month. We Laughed Until We Cried Watching Those Funny
Movies. “The Tales From Kutcharitaville”, I Think That They May Still Be
Available In A Boxed Set. Maybe Try Amazon. Good Luck With That….
You
Know, It’s No Wonder That Everyone Calls “Captain Kutchie Pelaez”..The
Most Interesting Man In The World! Did You Know That Kutchie Drinks
Those Wonderful Mixed Drinks Named In His Honor Called “Kutcharitas”.?.
There A Hell Of A Lot Better Than Any Mexican Beers. And Much Stronger
To Boot!…You Could Almost Hear The Song Now…”Wasting Away Again In
Kutcharitaville”.!…What Do Ya Think? Not Bad Ahh!…
….That Sunken Ship In The News These Days,
….It’s
Been Resting Down On The Bottom Of The Sea Since Way Back In 1857, “Mel
Fisher” Even Overlooked That One!… “Yankee Jack Pittorino” and “Micheal
McCloud” Now Have Reason To Write Another Song…(Hint-Hint-Hint) “Jack”
Listen-Up Here!
….Hell, We Can’t Find A Boeing 777 That’s Been Lost Only A
Little Over A Few Months Now! Could It Be Because The Jet Had No Silver and Gold Aboard, Just People?….Go Figure……
….Good
Thing That All The ….(“Anita And Kutchie Pelaez’s Key West Key Lime Pie
Shops”)..Are All Showing Increasing Pie Sales Throughout All They’re
Areas Of Distribution. Consumers Just Never Seem To Reach They’re Fill
Of Those “Yummy Key Lime Pies” That The “Peleaz’s Working Partner Team”
Continues To Produce. They Have Been Called “Love At First Bite”.
.Everyone Agrees, That The Loving Couple Have Been Baking They’re
Culinary Delectables Over 40-Years Now!….
Isn’t She
Wonderful?….”AAAHHHH”, The Magic Of The Gorgeous “Mrs. Anita Pelaez”
Well She Is Something Else!…Honey, She’s The Real Thing Baby!….
….Who The Hell Does That “Kutchie Pelaez” Think That He Is?….”Frankie Valli” Or Some Big-Shot Like That?
….It’s No Wonder That People Are All Calling Him “The Most Interesting Man In The World”,…Big Girls Don’t Cry…Do They?….
….Don’t
Cha Just Love Em!?….We Sure Do!….It is A Well Known Fact That “Captain
Kutchie Pelaez” Knows Who Put The Bomp In The Bomp Shoo Bomp Shoo Bomp
And The Rama In The Rama Lama Ding Dong!.
….He Even Knows Who Put The Dip In The Dip Da Dip Da Dip!…How Cool Is That?….
….a-good-1-4-u-2-n-joy-ok!..
….”Very Interesting”!….
….”Frankie Valli and Kutchie Pelaez”..Did Make-It As Big As “Frank Sanatra”.
….”Yeah”
A Few Wise Guys They Certainly Were “Frankie Valli, Kutchie Pelaez and
Joe Pesci”!….Together “The Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight”!…..
….Mafiosi
Wanna-Bee’s. The Key Lime Pie “Wild Bunch”. They’ve Got Everyone
Shaking In They’re Flip-Flops!….”Even “Jimmy Buffet” Doesn’t Know Where
It’s Safe To Hide-Out”!….Especially Since Everyone Found-Out That
“Captain Kutchie Pelaez” Was The One Who First Came-Up With The “Goody
Goody”…“The Original Cheese Burgers In Paradise” And Kutchie’s Buddy
.“Levi Stubbs”. Of The “Four Tops” Helped Him Name Them Way Back In The
Early 70?s.
….Eli Wallach, Be Careful, Don’t Eat The “Cannoli’s”!…They’re Killer Man!….
….They Lived!…They Really Did!…Just Ask “Levi”!….
….I’d
Give My Left “Nut” To Set Down With “Captain Kutchie Pelaez, Frankie
Valli, Terry Levi, Joe Pesci, Bob Gaudio, Bob Crewe, Paul Shaffer, Bob
De Niro, Tommy DeVito, Martin Scorsese, Clint East Wood, Bob Newhart And
Yankee Jack Pittorino”! Rub Elbows And Shoot The Shit With That Whole
Crew Of “Good Fellows” Or “Wise Guys” Or Whatever The Hell You Want To
Call Them!….”Who Wouldn’t”?….
….I Believe That “Kutchie” First
Sang “My Eyes Adored You” And “Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You” To His
Lovely Bride “Anita” Way Back In The Seventies! ….Sounds Like A Love
Story To Us!…A Very Good Yarn! “You” “You’re Good You”….
….That
“Captain Kutchie” Always Lands Back On His Feet. No Matter How Tough
The Situation Is He Always Comes Back Up On The Top Of The Heap, King Of
The Hill! Everyone Knows That! Never Count The Captain Out No Matter
How Down The Chips May..Appear!…… Remember That He Is Not Only “The
World Famous Captain Kutchie Pelaez” But Please Keep In Mind That
“Captain Kutchie” Is Also Considered “The Most Interesting Man In The
World”!….Why Else Would Everyone Be Talking About Him And His
Adventurous Wild And Crazy World Exploits, Treasure Hunting And
Exploring, The Megalodon Teeth And Oh All Those Giant Reptile
Exploits?…To Say “The Dude” Really Has Balls Is Quite An Understatement
To Say The Least!….
….His Drop Dead Gorgeous Wife “Anita”
And
They’re Famous Key Lime Pies!….They’re World Famous Historic Key West
Kutcharitaville Key Lime Pie Factory and Grill, Home Of The Famous
“Goody Goody” Cheese Burgers In Paradise!….All Conveniently Located In
NC Near The Famous “Biltmore House And Estate!….
….Yeah, You’re Good You. No You’re “DAMN GOOD YOU”….
….Also Add “The Two Yutes”….”What’s A Yute”? You Might Ask. Just Ask “Yankee Jack”…..
…Marriage
Lasts Forever and Ever, Two People Become One! A Covenant Between A
Husband, His Wife And The Lord “Jesus” The Christ! Marriage, The Same
Yesterday Today Tomorrow And Forever More! True Love Never Changes!
Just
Ask “Captain Kutchie Pelaez” He Knows!….That What The Lord Puts
Together Can Never Be Broken!….That “Captain Kutchie” Really Knows His
Stuff. He’s Mind Blowing To Say The Least!…
….”Captain Kutchie” Never
Kisses Ass But If He Did Kiss An Ass It Would Probably Be His Beautiful
Wife’s Ass!….You Go “Captain Kutchie”!….
….”Captain
Kutchie”
Always Said That To Him That “James Garner” Was To Him One Of The
World’s Most Interesting Persons. So I Guess That This Key Lime Pie
Should Be For You This Month “ROCKFISH”…(RIP)!….
….Only “Jim Rockford” Could Have Came Close To “Fred Thompson” In “Persecuted”, Fred Really Nailed It In This Flick!….
….”Captain Kutchie”, You Put You’re Cloth’s Back On, “You”!….
….Who Dat, Dat Say “Who Dat” Every Time Dat I Say Who Dat, “Who Dat”?….
….Nobody Be Done Does It Better Than The “Captain Kutchie” Be Done Did!….
….At A Time Like This, I Can’t Help But Think, What Would “Captain Kutchie” Say?….
….Yeah,
With They’re Olive Oil Voice And Guinea Charm, The Damn Dago Wop
Grease-Ball Goombahs Are Out To Steal Everyone’s Grease! The
Scumbags!….That’s Probably What Captain Kutchie Might Say!…
….Looks Like That Scary Snow Snake!….”Albino Cobra”…..Wasting My Time….
….Anita
and Captain Kutchie Pelaez’s Key Lime Pies Are Really As Good As
Everyone Says They Are. The Proof Is In The Pudding, They’re That Damn
Good!….
….With “Anita’s and Kutchie’s” World Famous Key Lime Pies You Will Always Eat, Drink and Be Murray!
….”Captain Kutchie” Of Key Lime Pie Fame Always Told Me “Keep You’re Friends Close But Keep You’re Enemies Closer”.
….1-4-u-2-c-i-c-u-2-ok-ok!
….123-testing-123…,.ok,
that’s a go!….ok….go…….please go away now!……go to your room now!….well
if you don’t go now, i will!….bye-bye….i am gone now, you can stop
reading, cause i am gone……i am really gone now!
….i can’t believe that you are still reading this! you believe that?
….i can’t believe that we ate that whole key lime pie!…
….since
“Rooms To Go” did good, maybe the “Pelaez’s” should change their name
to “Key Lime Pies To Go”, Yeah-What Do You-All Think? Is That A
Go?……go to your room now!….BYE!….

….With “Captain Kutchie” It Is Known As “The Battle Of The Bulge”!….,
….Ain’t It A Kick In The Head?…..Damn Straight It Is!….